A moment out of Time
by Fandomness
Summary: The Doctor, Amy and Rory are traveling through time and space, possibly to see giant slugs, when suddenly a phantom from the Doctor's past is found standing in the control room. Is this a second chance? Or just a moment out of time?
1. Chapter 1

**Doctor Who...Thing**

**I want to bring a few things to you attention. Namely one. Possibly two. And they are this. **  
**This fic is for fun only and...**  
**I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT I'M DOING.**  
**Bearing that in mind, I will continue.**  
**Characters are not mine, unfortunately. More Fortunately they do belong to the BBC and as such make an excellent television show.**

"Giant slugs!"  
"Slugs?"  
"Giant ones! All over Galahalapooli, slime everywhere! The galahalapoolins use them like horses or cows, they build entire cities out of their slime!" He grinned, twisting his fingers excitedly.  
"Well..." Amy and Rory shared a look. "That sounds...sticky."  
"Oh, no...well, maybe...WELL, yes. But only if you touch something." While Amy laughed quietly, the Doctor rushed around the TARDIS console, gushing about Galahalapooli's many natural wonders.  
"Doctor."  
"Hm?" The Doctor looked up from twisting a knob, and froze suddenly.  
"Rose."

Rose Tyler stood staring at him, her hand still lingering by the door. The 'Doctor' stood beside her, half concealed in the shadows.  
"Rose. ROSE!" With a great cry of delight he darted back around the console, careening over to stand in front of her, grinning hugely. "Rose, Rose Tyler. Awh, look at you!" His smile faltered as his hands hovered uselessly in front of him. "And me!" He turned to his once double. "Well, the last me, well a clone of the last me, human clone. Human me. Love the suit. Ties a bit bright though could do with a bow tie." He looked between them still grinning. "Oh this is brilliant."  
"Doctor?" Amy reminded him, taking a small step forward.  
"Oh! Of course! Rose meet the Ponds, Amy, Rory, Rose Tyler and...me." He gestured as his clone.  
"Hang on." Amy interrupted, taking another more territorial step forward. "Who is she?"  
The Doctor's smile faltered in confusion.  
"She's Rose. My Rose." He gestured emphatically at his chest.  
"Well..." the clone Doctor spoke up. "Sort of. Yeah."  
"And he's?" Amy turned her attention to the clone.  
"He...My clone." The Doctor gave another brilliant smile, that faded quickly as both their faces remained blank. "You know... Doctor-Donna, Daleks...I'm sure I've mentioned them..."  
"Doctor?" He spun around as Rose recaptured his attention, his eyes lighting up like they only could with her. "How long's it been since..." She entwined her hand with that of his clones. "Bad wolf bay?"  
His smile broke and he swallowed hard before trying to bring it back up again.  
"A few years probably."  
"And you regenerated?"  
"Yeah." His smile rebounded. "Yeah, there was this bit with radiation but it worked out. Got a new me, still got hands, feet," He raised the body parts as he spoke of them. "Still not ginger." He tugged at a strand of hair.  
"It's a hard shade to come by ginger." the clone agreed, shaking his head in shared disappointment.  
"And wot? You never mentioned me? Wot'd you forget?" She tried to keep her voice light, her hand still safely ensconced in that of HER doctor's. His eyes widened instantly, and he threw a glance over his shoulder.  
"No, course I did, I always do. How could I forget you? Rose Tyler. My Rose Tyler. I definitely mentioned you. Definitely. Not my fault this lot doesn't listen." He sniffed. "But look at you! You haven't changed. Either of you." he looked between them again, his eyes stuttering over their interlocked hands. "Been crazy while you were gone, so many things! The Silence, the Angels, did I tell you about the Angels? Then there's fish-custard, and prisoner Zero. And the Daleks, haven't gotten rid of them just yet. And Christmas! You missed Christmas! Oh, the snow and..." He turned away continuing to prattle on about all the things she'd missed. In his absence the two couples appraised each other. Rory and the 'Doctor' both far more laid back then the two women.  
"Is he alright?" Rose asked finally, turning to watch the Doctor make his way around the control room, waving his hands and yelling at odd moments and chuckling in between.  
"Yeah, course he is. Why wouldn't he be?" Amy demanded defensively, giving this blond stranger a level look. Rose shrugged, looking almost sad.  
"Dunno. Never seen him like this before."  
"Like what?"  
"Wild. Vulnerable."  
"Look, I don't know who you are, or when you knew him. But this is how he's always been. There's nothing wrong with him."  
"Yeah, s'pose not. Just changed I guess."  
"...And there was a great BIG- hang on." the Doctor came stumbling back into the conversation, stopping to stare Rose full in the face. "How'd you get here?" He looked her up and down, frowning in sudden consternation. The Doctor clone grinned hugely.  
"Great question."  
"Rose." the Doctor ignored him.  
"There was a-" she churned her hands suggestively. "A thing."  
"A thing? Yes, well, those do tend to pop up some times don't they. I think I saw one just the other day, a thing. What kind of THING?"  
"It was like...a crack."  
"A crack..." the Doctor turned to Amy and Rory, his eyes full of despair.  
"Not just a crack. A space/ time crack." the clone interjected. "A crack through the universe."  
"And what you fell in?" the Doctor demanded, turning to give his once duplicate a look.  
"Well," the clone rubbed at his neck sheepishly. "More or less, yeah. Right down the rabbit hole." he whistled, pointing his finger down into a plummet.  
"And you ended up here?" Amy demanded, frowning.  
"Yea-Well, basically. It took a bit." the 'Doctor' admitted.  
"We were looking for you." Rose piped up. "We figured you were the only one that could get us home."  
The Doctor looked up from his contemplation of some distant thing and his eyes locked with hers. For one instantly he could see her emotions laid bare before him, her doubt as she looked at his new face, mingled with that ancient faith. Faith in her Doctor. He swallowed more softly then before, shifting his jaw and sparing a swift glance for his other self, who stood lounging against the door frame, and then his eyes; eyes shining with hidden emotion, returned to her and he forced himself to look down.  
"Of course."


	2. Chapter 2

**Part two. Characters still aren't mine, despite several wishes to the contrary. Enjoy!**

"Right. First bits first, we've got to find the crack you fell through and shove you back to the other side." He spun and both the Doctors took off and began flipping switches on the console.  
"We just input the coordinates of our arrival place and scan for time disruptions in the..."  
"Wherever we need to go, timey-wimey spacey-wacey stuff. The TARDIS knows where she's going. Don't you old girl?"  
They watched both the Doctors racing around jabbering out words that didn't make any sense, pulling levers and twisting dials. Then they stopped simultaneously and said together.  
"Right...  
Geronimo!  
Alon-sy!" And yanked down separate levers.

The TARDIS engines gave one solitary wheeze and shuddered hard, sending them all tumbling around the room. Sparks flew, and popped and all the lights dimmed.  
"Ah! No you don't!" The clone growled, punching buttons and gripping the desktop for balance.  
"No, no, no! Don't do that!" the Doctor slapped some sparks, twisting another dial. "Come on." The TARDIS gave one last stuttering shake and stopped. "No, NO!...Gah!"  
The clone rushed to the monitor and began looking for a feed while the Doctor whipped out his sonic screwdriver, fazing it over the engines and looking hard at the results.  
"What's that nasty clone done to you eh?" The Doctor asked, sonic-ing a few more bits of machinery.  
"What?" the clone demanded of the screen, turning a knob. "What?!" Whatever he was looking at moved into focus and he looked hard at the doors. "What."  
The Doctor had followed suite lowering his screwdriver slowly and looking apprehensive.  
"What? Doctor? What is it?" Amy asked clinging to Rory's arms.  
Both the Doctors rushed to start talking at once, stopping a few words in.  
"Ah, right probably meant you there." the clone conceded, taking a respectful step back and clasping his hands behind him.  
"Right...yes, well. Imagine this universe is a piece of bread."  
"Bread?" Rory and Rose asked together, staring.  
"Yes. And all the other universes are more pieces of bread and they're all held together by sticky void-ish jelly." He looked around accepting their nods of understanding. "Well, I think that's where we are. Stuck in the void jelly of the universe. Or nothing like that. But something almost close."  
"Right." the clone nodded. "Something like that. Never did like jelly on my sandwiches..."  
"I'm not one for butter myself." The Doctor agreed and they may have plunged head long into a very philosophical debate about different spreads, but they were interrupted quickly.  
"So what does that mean exactly?" Rory asked anxiously, moving to look the Doctor full in the face.  
"Right. Yes. Well...it means...It. Means." he moved around to the door, while everybody else back away quickly. He yanked the door open and a great 'wind' rushed in to fill the room, Pulling at everything and moving nothing, "Whoa!" The Doctor slammed it quickly shut again. "We're stuck." He turned to share their ominous stares, his hands fumbling around his collar. "It's taken my bow tie."  
"Doctor!" Rose demanded. "Wot are we gonna do?"  
He stared at her and his hands relaxed back to his sides. He took a half step and his hands flickered like maybe he would reach out to her, but they stayed by his side and he forced his eyes away.  
"I don't know."  
"That's new. Never had that happen before." The clone mumbled frowning.  
"I have." The Doctor's hand shot up. "Let me tell you it's not any easier the second time."  
"Hm, I imagine." The clone nodded.  
"But...Doctor."  
They both turned to look at Amy, faces patient.  
"We're in the TARDIS can't it just move through the void anyway?"  
"No!" his face wrinkled. "Course it can't. Nothing can. Not anymore. No, the TARDIS moves through the vortex, tiny holes in the bread connecting it to all of space and time, sort of, it can't just JUMP sandwiches. No."  
"Then what are we gonna do?"  
He looked around at all of them, his clone already scanning the control room, time lord brain working to come up with a plan, and stopped at Rose.  
"I'm not sure. But there is two of me. Now. And you know the old saying, 'Always get a second opinion'. I'm sure together we can come up with a remedy." He patted the TARDIS console fondly, and it ejected another slimmer, blue ended screwdriver. "There we go." He tossed it to his double. "Better get cracking." The clone caught it turning to rush down one of the boundless corridors. The Doctor fired up his own screwdriver once again and began sonic-ing bits of the walls and lights.  
Rose watched HER Doctor disappear and then turned to look at...the Doctor and the Ponds, talking together so easily like she had once been able too. She had known him better then anyone once. Now... He might not even think of her anymore. Hadn't mentioned her...But maybe that was better. Maybe it made it easier... she wandered over to the TARDIS console, smiling softly as she greeted her old friend. It had changed on the outside, but somewhere inside her she could feel it watching, still the same old TARDIS. Reaching out she brushed her fingers over a few of the countless buttons, stopping to rub at a small yellow one that had been fashioned in the shape of a rose, no bigger then a pinhead. It sank in and there was a whine of static.  
A holographic screen stuttered up behind her, familiar images moving across its face. It was her. Her and her doctor. Dancing after the London blitz, She watched it all, feeling tears burn at her eyes. It was him. Him how she remembered him, him how he'd been. And her. He remembered her.  
The Doctor looked up and cried out suddenly, seeing Rose watching herself on his screen.  
"Oi!" He rushed over to the console, poking at buttons and levers. "Yes. There see? Told you I remembered. Never forgot see?" He stammered to quickly, beating at the buttons wildly as he tried to send the video back where it came from. "Never, ever forgot. Couldn't. Wouldn't. No. Not my Rose, not my brilliant... Rose Tyler." The screen disappeared with a click and he turned to beam at her, while deep inside his heart raged, begging to touch her, tell her, stroke her cheek and tell her a thousand time the words he had kept hidden so long. "Never forgot." he turned away, his hand straying back up to his empty collar. "Right..." pocketing the sonic, he wandered quickly out of the room, disappearing into the wardrobe. Rose, Amy and Rory looked after him silently. And then Rose followed suite.

He didn't look up as she entered, digging through the piles of clothing that filled the wardrobe and tossing the rejects over his shoulder.  
"Wot ya doing?" Fending off a large pink tutu and shaking a jumper off her head.  
"The void took my tie. I need another bow tie." He held a cloth up to his shirt briefly, before chucking it with the rest.  
"So, what? You where bow ties now?"  
He sprang up grinning instantly.  
"Yeah, and a fez. Fezzes are cool."  
"Alright then." Holding up her hands to ward him off she joined in the search. For a while nobody spoke, intent on their business. Then Rose caught his arm, holding up a tie and proceeding to attach it to his neck when he grinned his approval. "There. How's that one?"  
Turning to a mirror he tweaked his tie, still grinning hugely.  
"Cool, bow ties are cool." He turned to find her smiling at him and his own grin widened in response. "Oh I've missed you. My Rose. You always did get everything perfect." He gave the tie another tug. "A FEZ!" He whirled hard, his eyes wide with panic. "We need a fez." He gripped her shoulders, trying to convey this most ultimate need.  
"Alright. Keep your tie straight. Come on. Got to be one in here somewhere."  
His heart filled to see her again. To have this time like they used to. His Rose. His wonderful, wonderful Rose. There would never be another like her. Oh, he had Amy and Rory and they were brilliant, loved the Ponds, great Ponds. And there was River sometimes. But only Rose would put up with him one hundred percent. She might not like a fez, sure, people got jealous if they couldn't pull it off, but she wasn't going to deny it to him. She'd laugh and poke fun, like with his jumper, but she wouldn't go shooting it off his head! His Rose. His heart bursting he leaped into the fray.

She watched him as he worked, throwing clothes and shoes around the room with careless abandon, rambling away about anything and everything.  
"So, how'd you meet Amy and Rory? An' what are they? Siblings?"  
"Yeah-No! No, they're married. Had a daughter, have a daughter, but she's..." He trailed off chucking a shoe with particular interest. "They're great, the Ponds, great fun. Had my doubts about Rory, I mean-" He motioned at his noise, laughing. Rose chided him with a slap at his arm and he sobered. "But they all proved to be very ill founded, love Rory. The last centurion, end of the universe, held up well, though the plastic probably helped." He motioned like a robot. "Always easier on the reanimated."  
Rose laughed, the Doctor stopping to grin back.  
"Well you haven't changed a bit. Apart from..." she gestured at all of him and he held up his hands in evidence, twisting them to show both sides. "Still my Doctor. No doubt. Still not makin' any sense."  
"Uh! I- the daleks, and- you sort of...had to be there. Great story though, if we get stuck for eternity I'll tell it sometime. Ooh!" he dived into the laundry, resurfacing with a fez held high. "There!" He plopped it on his head, grinning proudly. Laughing, Rose snatched it off setting it smugly on her own. They grinned at each other, and he helped her to her feet, turning her to the mirror and beaming over her shoulder. "Fez. Fezzes are cool."  
Slowly her smile faded, and she removed the scarlet cap.  
"Looks better on you I think." Turning she replaced it slowly, staring into his face. His grin had shrunk into a smaller, heart-warming smile. His eyes looking into hers with that same age old affection, she had felt so long ago, so much deeper then before. They weren't blue, or brown, but they were familiar, because it didn't matter what he looked like, this was her Doctor, and he loved her, even if he'd never said it. She knew.  
His smile faltered and he moved to turn, she caught his face in her hand turning it back to look at her and reaching up on the tips of her toes to press her lips to his, her other hand creeping up into his hair on the other side. The Doctor froze, for one instant he hesitated, hands raised in shock. But this was his Rose, and he loved her, even now, he'd never told her, he'd never had this and he wasn't going to let it pass him by again. So he brought his hands down to cradle her face, slipping his fingers through her hair and kissed her back. Her arms moved up to loop his neck and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Everything else disappeared, there was only her now, her fingers playing through his hair, her heart beating so close, her lips pressed so sweetly against his, his Rose


	3. Chapter 3

Her lips were warm and soft against his, her fingers twisting through the hair at the nape of his neck, her heart beat so close, her warmth engulfing him. He never wanted it to end. The universe could end, the Daleks could come, the world could explode...and he would die a happy man in Rose's arms.

"Doctor?"

They jumped apart at Amy's voice at the door, the Doctor keeping his head ducked low to catch a few more seconds of her lips on his, before whirling guiltily to face the gaping ginger. Amy was staring between them, no doubt thinking of the kiss she had shoved on him so long ago, so forcefully refused.

"Amy. Yes. Hello!" He swallowed.

"Right. We are caught in this void yea'?" She raised an eyebrow. The Doctor sniffed, tweaking his bow tie.

"Yes. Of course." He brought his hands up for emphasis, looking at her with the most innocently miffed expression he could muster.

"Ri-ght. So...Not the best time to grab a quickie in the closet I'd say, wouldn't you?" She watched his cheeks turn pink. "I mean, we might die yeah? Like trapped forever dying yeah? Don't you think that's kind of a problem?"

"Right, yes I'm coming...Yes just uh..." He made a shooing motion. "Just go, recalibrate the purple past tense fibulizer...thing."

"The wha?"

"Ah! Just-" the shooing motions were more emphatic, his face now brightly red and Amy took that as a cue to leave raising both her hands and eyebrows in mock fear. When she was gone his shoulders sagged, and he brought a hand up to rub at his eyes. This was why he would never get what he craved...Why he should never love, why he could never stop. Because somebody would always need him to save them...

"'m sorry..." Rose mumbled in a humble voice and he didn't have to turn to know that her tongue would be peeking through her teeth bashfully.

"For what?" the Doctor asked tiredly, turning to face her and forcing the corners of his mouth up in the smallest semblance of a smile.

"I should never 've..."

"Oh, Rose..." he cut her off, stepping forward to cradle her face in his hands, hands that were shaking slightly with the tender heart break he could feel echoing through his chest. "Never be sorry. You have...Done more for me than anybody else in the universe...Even now you're still fixing me..." His smile was more real now, but still small, eyes glassy with something that was not quite sorrow, or joy. "You have saved me Rose Tyler, in more ways then can be described even by a Time Lord as old as I am." He chuckled briefly before sobering once again. "Please...Never be sorry for that...Never." He pressed his lips to her forehead, putting his arms around her and pulling her close for a more appropriate hug.

"Doctor!" Amy's impatient voice rang down the corridor.

"Gah! Yes! Alright! I'm coming! The universe doesn't implode just because I take a break you know Amelia Pond! Except for that one time...But that really wasn't MY fault! SOMEBODY had to stop for a burger!" He turned to Rose, face pained. "5 minutes to total universal collapse, and she's ordering a Big Mac!"

"Well you know I was _sor' of _pregnant at the time!"

"Oh, excuses, excuses! Your just lucky those IT men showed up or you would have entire civilizations on your conscious because of a bit of pureed cow!" He could hear Rose's laughter chiming comfortably in his ears and a hidden smile flushed across his face, it felt so good to have her back again. His Rose. The girl who found bow ties and fezzes and didn't order fast food during high stress situations, the girl who could fill the Void with one peal of laughter and stop time with a kiss. How he had missed that girl...

"Gross!" Amy complained from the console, but the Doctor had already given up on the conversation.

"Right! What have we learned...Rory?" He turned to the sometimes Roman sitting on the jump seat.

"That we're stuck." Rory replied simply, his face grim.

"Yes, thank you Rory, for pointing out the obvious I was hoping for some NEW, preferably relevant information, but, its-a-start! Amy!"

"Well, the TARDIS is still functional... she just won't go anywhere."

"Yes, good Rose!" He turned to beam at the blonde, feeling himself go warm as she smiled back at him. She shrugged slightly, the wardrobe probably wasn't the best place to pick up information, still she didn't disappoint him.

"We went through the Void to get to Pete's world before, and that's where we came from yeah? So, maybe you and th- 'Doctor Smith," She gestured to his clone as he came jogging back into the room. "caused some sort of...Temporal wots-it and got us halfway back again?" Her tongue poked through her teeth again, as she smiled uncertainly.

"Yes, good, very ob-serv-ant.." he sonic-ed a wall "Entirely plausible..." He squinted hard at the readings, his voice trailing away, then he whirled on the 'Doctor'. "And you Doctor? What have you...nosed out?"

"Well, firstly, the TARDIS isn't quite how I remember it..."

"Yes, well that happens..." the Doctor agreed. "She's not quite how I remember her sometimes, she was even human once! That was interesting."

"I'd have liked to have seen that." Commented the second 'Doctor' wistfully.

"I know." they shared a look, both pairs of eyes slightly glazed. Until Rory cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Right, SECONDLY." the clone continued, shoving his hands in his pockets and rocking on his heels. "My fiancée is still slightly hooked on the first version of myself, not that I blame her, you came out rather well this time round, nice hair, not so sure about the fez..."

"Fezzes are cool." the Doctor defended, touching a hand to his hat to make sure it was still there and ignoring Amy's slowly shaking head and soundless 'No, they're not.' and waiting for his double to continue.

"And thirdly, Rose is right." He flashed her one of his huge, sparkling grins, and the Doctor tried to ignore the rumbling of jealousy in his stomach, when she smiled back. "The time-y wime-y temporal charge between the Doctor and me shoved us half way through the Void, all it would take is another spark of temporal energy and- voilà! Home sweet home." He clicked his teeth together, smile widening.

"Well that's great!"Amy enthused shooting him a smile that he missed, before turning to share it with his clone. Rose's hand slipped in his and she beamed, tongue still showing. He smiled back more happily then he felt, and then turned to the occupants of the console room.

"Yes, brilliant. Tell me how it works out." He disengaged himself from Rose, walking with merry steps down the ramp beneath the console.

"Wha-Doctor!" Amy hung over the rail and he stopped to smile up at her. "We need your help."

"Oh, I don't think so Pond. Like I said before, there are two of me now, I'm sure my esteemed self will come up with something, I always do! Your in good hands,- yell, when you think of something."

"Bu- DOCTOR!" Amy's voice slowly faded, accented by the tune the Doctor whistled as he left them and she turned to the console room, eyes wide with disbelief. A moment later the once clear floor went dark. "He left us." Amy whispered, looking around at all of them. Rory watched her in concern, the 'Doctor' frowned lightly and Rose chewed at her lip, eyes filled with worry. Huffing Amy went and sat beside Rory, grasping his hand and leaning against him for comfort. Rose watched her in disbelief.

"Is that it?" she demanded, her tone slightly higher then she would have liked. Rory turned to stare at her.

"What? He's the Doctor! He has a reason for everything. We let him stew enough eventually he'll tell us what it is."

"But-"

"Look." Amy interrupted. "However he was for you. He's changed. He tells us everything okay? We just have to give him a little space. He'll fume and break a few things probably. But he'll tell us what's going on. So just...give him a mo? Yeah?"

Rose shared a look with her Doctor, still chewing at her lip anxiously. He watched her, rocking slowly, hands digging into his pockets and then jerked his head toward the ramp. Rose beamed, accepting the permission, the blessing she had needed from him to go and comfort the Doctor. Pausing to kiss her Doctor on the lips briefly she hurried down the ramp and into the darkness beyond.


	4. Chapter 4

She was surprised by how quiet it was as she descended the steps, the grumbling and bangs didn't start till she had stepped to the floor at the end of the ramp, and then it was as if her ears were unplugged and the noise came rushing through.

"Ow-OW!"

Peering through the slight dim caused by the tinted floor she watched the Doctor swatting at a sparking wire. He kicked at the console and another spark snapped at him the Tardis pinging in annoyance.

"Ow-Don't do that!" The Doctor huffed, stamping his foot childishly. Rose laughed, unable to stop herself. The Doctor spun, flushing instantly. "Rose, what are you doing down here? Why aren't you up there?" He plastered on a frown, eyebrows digging together.

"Came to see if you were alrigh'..." Rose bit her lip at him, trying not to smile at his remembered antics. His face softened slightly and he flourished a hand.

"Of course I'm alright. I'm always alright."

They're eyes caught together and they gazed, neither saying anything, the Doctor desperately trying to keep up his mask, and Rose effortlessly peering through it.

"Yeah." Rose agreed as another spark arced through the darkness and the Doctor went back to kicking the column. "Havin' a bit of trouble?" Rose teased, as the Doctor grappled with some of the wires.

"Gah! Look at this! Look at it! It's his fault you know." He sniffed self-righteously, turning away and tugging at his jacket. "Coming into my Tardis! Without a knock, or a letter...All grabb-y and pull-y and-" He shook his hands for emphasis. "Hands all over my console!" The Tardis groaned at him, shivering slightly. "Yes alright! YOUR console..." He waved a hand in dismissal of the Tardis' happy chime.

"Who?" Rose asked blankly, though she was hardly ignorant of the answer.

"Your...Fiancée..." He pressed his lips tightly together, the word dripping with sarcastic disgust.

Rose let out another laugh, watching him incredulously.

"Doctor...you jealous?"

The Doctor blushed harder, affronted.

"You are!" Rose was gaping now, her eyes still dancing with mirth.

"No I'm not! Of course I'm NOT! Jealousy is all human-y, emotional stuff, with little green monsters and..." He trailed away with another expressive hand gesture.

"'s alrigh' Doctor, she's your Tardis, not against the law to get a littl' green someone comes in n' starts pushin' your buttons." She started laughing again and the Doctor's complexion cleared.

"Oh! You thou-" He jerked a thumb behind him, thankful when she continued laughing and paid him little heed. "The Tardis. Well that's fine then. Come on Rose!" Lunging forward he seized her hand pulling her forcibly behind him.

"Where we goin'?"

"You know us, things to see, people to save. So! While them up there mumble about, you and me..." He turned to grin into her eyes, "Are going to save the universe!"

They barrelled up the ramp, barging past the small group of people swapping ideas around the console.

"Doctor!" Amy demanded, as they charged past.

"Oh, not now Pond!"

Rory and Amy gaped as he disappeared down one of the corridor. The 'Doctor' merely watched, lips pursed in thought.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Rory asked the clone.

"Nah, no need. Rose is clev-_er!_ She knows what she's doing. So...Anymore ideas?"

"Wot you doin'?" Rose giggled after they had burst into one of the countless doors of the Tardis she had never been through.

"You fell through a crack, not just a crack, a trans-dimensional crack, an after shock of my Big Bang 2! Long story, universe ended, got trapped in a box, a grey box not a blue box, wore a fez, lost a fez, there was a bunch of time-y, wime-y _ness_, with a mop. Anyway!" He grinned at her, a crazy frantic grin that she would recognize no matter what face it was on. "_We _are falling back again!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Here it is. The last chapter of A Moment In Time, hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!**

**I do not own Doctor Who, but I do lovie him very much.**

The Doctor gathered up great coils of rubber tubing, grabbing a small box of doodads, that he shoved into Rose's hands. Rose was beaming beside him, her eyes twinkling, mouth split into her trade mark smile. Working a hand free of his load he gripped hers, grinning back at her and they ran back to the console together.

"I'm just saying, something LIKE socks, I don't mean-"

"Socks? What's the point socks? That's...Socks?!"

"Doctor!" Amy's cry cut off Rory and the 'Doctor's' rising argument. "What're you doing?"

"Oh, don't mind me. Basic Tardis repairs. Nothing important. Come on Rose." He darted around them, dragging Rose behind him.

"Oi! What do you travel with him for?" The clone asked, gesturing at Rory. "He's thick!"

"OI!" everyone in the room glared at him Rose more softly then any of the others.

"Don't dis on the Roman." The Doctor frowned and then gestured emphatically at Rory. "Besides that's Rory! We love Rory! He's clever..sometimes. Plus he's always good for a laugh." he fumbled at his nose, wires slipping down his arms, stopping quickly at they're disgruntled expressions. "Right. Come on Rose."

"Doctor!" Amy complained, but he had already disappeared beneath the inky floor.

"You're a Roman?" The clone turned to Rory.

"It's a long story..."

…...

The Doctor dumped his load unceremoniously onto the floor, beginning to work with the tangled wires immediately.

"What ARE we doin'?" Rose asked, watching him with a smile. The Doctor glanced up.

"I told you, saving the universe. We are going to close the cracks. We-" he stared for a moment into her eyes. "are taking you home." He looked away and his movements were slower, his eyes darkened by hidden pain.

"But...you said you weren't gonna help...Wha=" She broke off thinking for a moment."If you know how to get us home...Why aren't you tellin' them?" She pointed to the ceiling.

"Because...it'll give them something to do...keep them sharp! Got to give that giant brain something to do or he'll get bored,lazy...start forgetting things and before you know it, he'll be as thick as the rest of you."

Ignoring the jibe at her fiancee's (and species) intellect, Rose laid a hand against his cheek, forcing his eyes up to hers, eyes filled with quiet anger, but at what she couldn't guess.

"Why else?"

His face breaking into a soft smile, he trailed a finger down her cheek.

"Oh, Rose. My Rose..." He looked her up and down. The anger replaced by pride. "Because I need them to save themselves...I need them...not to need me." he looked down, shoulders sagging. "I'm a selfish old man. And I needed...just once, just This once...I needed to leave the world behind, to leave them all behind...and know they would survive." He couldn't look at her as he turned back to his work, couldn't face her judgment. But she didn't judge. She stood by his side, not saying anything, but at the same time, saying everything that needed to be said.

…...

"Right!" the Doctor bounded up the ramp,Rose following more slowly behind him. "How are we all doing?" He turned to beam at them all in turn. "Any ideas? No of course not. But! Don't worry, because I've had an idea that will make up for all of you!" His grin widened, and he wandered over to face Amy's gaping expression. "Hello Amy how are you feeling?"

"What idea is that?" Rory interrupted.

"A great idea...really very grand, not important what it was, the important bit is..." Here his smile became decidedly smug. "I am going to save us all."

"How?"

The Doctor darted back down the ramp without answering, brushing past Rose as she moved to take HER Doctor's hand.

"Hello Rose." He grinned at her. "Having fun?"

"Right! Here we are." The Doctor reappeared, dragging the previously seen rubber tubing behind him. He'd attached what appeared to be a pair of barbecue tongs to the end, and was holding a small box in the crook of his arm. "Right, Rose, Doctor palms flat together." He clipped the tongs over their fingers, holding it in place with a couple rubber bands. Then he fumbled through the box pulling out a tangle of wires and a box of rainbow band aids. "Alright Scrawny loose the pinstripes." The Doctor snapped.

"Oi! Watch it Chin-Boy!"

"What is wrong with my chin?"

"Doctor!" Reminded him sharply. He went back to work, frowning angrily. The clone stripped his jacked and the Doctor stuck a wire over his heart, holding it in place with a band aid and pulling down his collar to get to the skin. The next one went on his forehead, dangerously close to his hairline.

"Rose." The Doctor turned to her with a smile.

"Ah, no." The clone cut in, taking a threatening step forward and holding out his empty hand. "Come on." He wiggled his fingers.

Rolling his eyes and sighing in disgust the Doctor passed over the band aids. With much fumbling and Rose's one handed help he attached the wires to the appropriate places. The Doctor looked on sullenly.

"Right, Rory! I need you to power the generator."

"More electric mixers?"  
"No." He gave Rory a puzzled look. "No of course not! This is going to take much more power..." Looking Rory up and down in confusion once more he gestured him forward. "Follow me."

…...

"So it's basically like static in a sock..."

"N- well, yes, sort of, temporal static, in a temporal sock, but not really because that would make the Tardis a sock, plus! We're using a jacket, there's not actually any sock involved really. So no nothing like that, but sort of yes."

"But- that's what I said...earlier. I said like socks and static, and your clone or who ever laughed at me. But I was right?"

"Yes, sort of Rory, in an entirely wrong sort of way, but yes. You see I said you were clever."

"Sometimes."

"Yes well, not everyone can be me, two's already to many, really." He nodded knowingly. "'s why he's got to stay over there, across the void. It's why Rose has to stay with him..." His eyes got distant for a moment, and a soft smile tugged at his lips. "Anyway!" His grin returned full force. "Let's get you set up."

He removed his tweed jacket, laying it across the floor fondly, while Rory removed his shoes and strapped a pair of clothes irons to his feet.

"Right, try and do even strokes, I don't want you wrinkling my coat. Keep it up as fast as you can until I say stop, got it?"

"Why couldn't I do this with my hands?"

"Because. Don't start till I tell you." Moving behind the last centurion the Doctor connected more wires to the back of the irons, twisting them firmly into place. "Right." The Doctor giggled suddenly. "I always wanted to try parallel parking." leaving Rory to groan at a bad joke he ran upstairs.

…...

"Okay." He opened the hot tap as far as it would go, jerking the zigzag plotter down to one and yanked down three yellow levers in quick succession. "Hold on tight. Now Rory!"

Instantly the Tardis began to move, shaking and groaning, the scanner run through a slew of random images as the Tardis tried to cope with the Void. The Doctor began to laugh wildly dancing around the console as steady footed as a sailor, pulling out knobs and twisting dials, snapping the zigzag plotter up to four as the rumble through the Tardis grew. Sparkling gold and blew energy ran up the tubing, circulating around Rose and the 'Doctor's' bodies, sending out a halo of pulsing light.

"Faster Rory!" The Doctor laughed, and a whine filled the console room, slowly building in strength until it broke with a flash and a great angry zapping. The Tardis disappeared from the Void with a jolt.

…...

"Okay Rory stop! Rory stop!"

Everybody in the control room was climbing to their feet save the Doctor, who was leaning over the railing, flushed with laughing.

"Did we do it?" Rose asked instantly, biting her lip. The Doctor gestured at the doors and taking the clone's hand and working the wires of their bodies they ran to the doors, throwing them wide and letting in a stream of rich yellow sunlight.

"Rose!" Jackie's voice came in from out of doors and the clone smiled.

"Yep, we did it." They stepped out together, back into THEIR world. The Doctor watched them from afar, was as Jackie came barreling through shining glass doors and gripped first her daughter and then her...Fiancée. Her love. The man she'd chosen. The human. The man who could give her a lifetime. And he tried not to feel bitter. Patting the Tardis fondly and smiling his thanks to his beloved Sexy, he went to stand by the door jam, keeping his feet firmly within the limits of his giant, blue, little box. Pete had joined Jackie, a little carroty haired boy clinging to his side, and the family welcome was going round. The Doctor looked to the ground, trying not to think of everything he'd lost that day on Bad Wolf Bay.

_Everything you saved. _His mind whispered, but this was one moment when he didn't want to listen.

"Hey."

He looked up at Rose's smiling face and an answering smile pulled up his cheeks.

"Hey..." He reached out a hand, grasping hers. "Welcome home." His mouth twisted as he said it and she didn't reply, just sat watching him. He could feel the clone him's eyes on them from afar. He didn't care. He pulled Rose closer to the Door, tucking her away into a little outcropping of shadow, his eyes suddenly desperate.

"Docto-"

He cut her off.

"Come with me." He stared hard into her face, ignoring the guilt and pity that he saw there. "There are so may places I wanted to take you Rose Tyler. Barcelona," She shared his brief smile and he pressed on. "The purple plains of Jhassari, real purple, not purple tinted, proper purple plains of grass. Gandera, brilliant, everything is made of blown glass, the buildings, the tables, the cars, can you imagine? Glass cars." He laughed. "Oh and so many whens...1902,4908, the year 222,222, in the galaxy of Nebvulas when butterflies first migrated through space!"

"Doctor..."

"Venus! During the festival of warmth, everyone going about in their dressing gowns taking baths in honey, chocolate, pineapple juice, anything really."

"Doctor,"

"Marsh mellow roasting over a super nova while listening to Elvis Presley, and star jumping in the Cribula! Little platforms of stardust artificially suspended over a pool of perfumed clouds, turkey racing in Winho, to meet Louis and Clarke, King Henry the IIII, Amelia Earheart. Arthur Dent, S-"

"Doctor!"

He stuttered to a stop, looking at her with wet eyes. She gazed back at him, her eyes similarly damp.

"I can't."

He nodded, swallowing hard.

"I know."

"I wish I could but..."

"I know. I'm sorry." He drew her to him. "I am SO sorry." He peeled her away from him, looking deep into her eyes with all the affection he had hid from her for so long. "Rose Tyler." His mouth flickered into a smile though the tears remained in his eyes. "My Rose Tyler." He drew an unsteady breath. "There's something I have to tell you, because it is important. So, so...Important. And it needs saying." He cradled her face in his hands, placing his thumb over her lips gently to keep her from talking, from taking away his nerve with gentle. "You...are...fantastic...Absolutely, fantastic." He bent his head against hers, delighting in the feel of her breath against his skin. "And I will ALWAYS, _always, _remember you." He pressed his lips against hers in a rash kiss, pulling her face to his for one too short moment. She pulled away with a gasp and he caught her gaze, pinning her with the full force of his eyes.

"I love you Rose Tyler."

Before she could respond he withdrew into the Tardis, slamming the doors closed behind him before collapsing to his knees with a shuddering sob. The Tardis didn't wait for him, she dematerialized with a sigh of regret and relief, conveying her own sadness to him with a heavy thrum. He hardly noticed. He was fighting so hard to keep his grief inside of him, to shove it away to the dark places he kept it, to bury it behind excitement and adventure... but he couldn't. There was nothing left to hide it with, he had stripped away the barriers to his soul and shared it with her and now...

He felt as if he had died. His whole body ached with the pain of death and there was nothing to alleviate it. No regeneration. No new body, no excuse to let go of his pains and claim they belonged to someone else. Because he was all their was, and all he was in that moment, was pain...

Rory forced Amy from the control room, forced her away from the Doctor as he mourned, leading her deep into the Tardis. But not deep enough. The Doctor's sobs echoed down the corridors, laced with her name and Rory knew that no matter how far he led her, they could not escape the loss of eternity.

…...

River Song closed her journal slowly as the familiar noise filled the prison hall, overpowering the turmoil of the cage's ceaseless rain. The Tardis ground into existence, looking small and dingy and the doors swung open with a creak.

"Hello sweetie." River purred, pressing herself against the bars of her cage. But the sight that met her wiper the smirk from her face. The Doctor stumbled out, looking tired and broken, cradling a dish of chips between his hands.

"Hello River." His voice was hoarse and dejected, pulling at her heart.

"What's wrong?"

He tried to smile, but the expression only broke away at her heart a little more.

"I lost one of my hearts today...I just came to make sure the other one was still intact."

Saying nothing River offered her hand through the bars, he took it, studying her knuckles fondly, before pressing it to his lips softly.

"What happened?" Her voice was nothing but a breath, to be easily ignored if he so chose. He smiled at her and lowered himself to the floor outside her door, pushing the chips through the bars, River gathered them into her lap, watching him carefully.

"I lost someone today..." Slowly and falteringly he told her of Rose, his brilliant, brilliant Rose. River listened without a word, content to simply hold his hand as the storm of Stormcage raged on outside. And they sat together like that as the universe watched because sometimes it didn't need the Doctor to save it... Sometimes it needed somebody to save the Doctor.

...

R&R please.


End file.
